Every SEO term you'll encounter, explained in plain language by real practitioners. Searchable, organized A-Z.
A permanent redirect from one URL to another. Transfers approximately 90-99% of link equity (ranking power) to the new URL. Used when a page permanently moves to a new address.
A temporary redirect. Tells search engines the original URL should remain indexed because the redirect is not permanent. Commonly used for A/B tests or temporary promotions.
An HTTP status code meaning 'page not found.' Occurs when a URL no longer exists or never existed. Too many 404s can waste crawl budget and hurt user experience.
Alternative text description added to an image's HTML tag. Helps search engines understand image content and provides accessibility for visually impaired users. Include relevant keywords naturally.
The visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. Search engines use anchor text to understand what the linked page is about. Diverse, natural anchor text profiles are best for SEO.
A link from another website pointing to your website. Backlinks are one of Google's top ranking factors. Quality matters more than quantity — one link from a DA 80 site outweighs 100 links from low-quality sites. See our free backlink checkers.
SEO tactics that violate search engine guidelines, such as buying links, keyword stuffing, cloaking, or using private blog networks (PBNs). Can result in Google penalties or manual actions.
The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. High bounce rates can indicate poor content relevance, slow page speed, or bad user experience.
A secondary navigation pattern showing users and search engines the page's position within the site hierarchy (e.g., Home > Blog > SEO > Keyword Research). Improves UX and generates rich results.
An HTML element (rel='canonical') that tells search engines which version of a page is the 'master' copy when duplicate or similar content exists. Prevents duplicate content issues.
The percentage of people who click on your listing after seeing it in search results. Calculated as clicks ÷ impressions × 100. Higher CTR signals relevance to Google and can improve rankings.
Keywords or topics that your competitors rank for but you don't. Identifying content gaps helps prioritize content creation for maximum impact. See our competitive analysis guide.
A set of three Google metrics measuring user experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading speed), First Input Delay / Interaction to Next Paint (interactivity), and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). A confirmed ranking factor.
The number of pages search engine bots crawl on your site within a given time period. Large or inefficient sites may have important pages crawled less frequently. Optimizing crawl budget ensures priority pages are indexed.
The process by which search engine bots (like Googlebot) discover and access web pages by following links and reading URLs from sitemaps.
A Moz metric (0-100) predicting how well a website will rank. Based on link profile strength. Not a Google metric, but widely used as a comparative benchmark. See our Moz Pro review.
A tool in Google Search Console that tells Google to ignore specific backlinks when assessing your site. Used to mitigate the impact of spammy or toxic links.
An Ahrefs metric (0-100) measuring the strength of a website's backlink profile. Similar to Moz's DA but uses a different algorithm and link database.
Identical or very similar content appearing on multiple URLs. Can confuse search engines about which version to rank. Solve with canonical tags, 301 redirects, or content consolidation.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Google's quality guidelines framework for evaluating content credibility. Especially important for YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics.
A highlighted search result box appearing above position 1 ('position zero'). Displays a direct answer extracted from a webpage. Winning snippets can dramatically increase traffic.
Formerly Google My Business. A free tool to manage how your business appears in Google Search and Maps. Essential for local SEO.
A free Google tool that shows how your site performs in search results. Provides data on queries, impressions, clicks, indexation status, and technical issues. See our GSC tutorial.
Google's web crawling bot that discovers and indexes content across the internet. Follows links and reads sitemaps to find new and updated pages.
Writing articles for other websites in exchange for a backlink to your site. An effective link building strategy when done on relevant, high-quality sites.
Help A Reporter Out. A platform connecting journalists with expert sources. Responding to relevant queries can earn high-quality backlinks from news publications.
HTML headings (H1-H6) that create a hierarchical structure for page content. H1 is the main heading (use one per page with your primary keyword). H2-H6 are subheadings. See our on-page checklist.
An HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and region a page targets. Essential for multilingual websites to serve the correct version to users in different countries.
The number of times your page appeared in search results, regardless of whether it was clicked. High impressions with low clicks indicate a CTR optimization opportunity.
Google's database of all discoverable web pages. Being 'indexed' means Google has crawled, processed, and stored your page. If a page isn't indexed, it cannot appear in search results.
A hyperlink from one page on your website to another page on the same website. Internal links distribute link equity, help with crawlability, and establish site architecture hierarchy.
When multiple pages on your site compete for the same keyword, splitting ranking potential between them. Solve by consolidating content or differentiating page intent.
Grouping related keywords together to target with a single page. Instead of creating separate pages for 'best running shoes' and 'top running shoes,' one page can target both terms.
The percentage of times a keyword appears on a page relative to total word count. Modern SEO doesn't require specific density targets — focus on natural language and topical coverage instead.
A metric estimating how hard it is to rank on page one for a keyword. Scored 0-100 by most tools. New sites should target KD under 30. See our keyword research guide.
The process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines. Forms the foundation of any SEO strategy. See our beginner guide.
Overusing a keyword in content or meta tags to manipulate rankings. A black hat tactic that can trigger Google penalties. Write for humans, not search engines.
The process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. One of the most impactful SEO activities, but quality always trumps quantity.
The SEO value passed from one page to another through hyperlinks. Higher-authority pages pass more link equity. Internal linking distributes equity throughout your site.
Optimizing a website to rank for location-specific searches. Involves Google Business Profile optimization, local citations, reviews, and location-targeted content. See our local SEO guide.
A search query with 3+ words that's very specific (e.g., 'best running shoes for flat feet'). Lower search volume but higher conversion rates and less competition than head terms.
An HTML tag that provides a brief summary of a page's content. Displayed below the title in search results. Doesn't directly affect rankings but significantly impacts click-through rate.
HTML elements that provide metadata about a web page to search engines and browsers. Includes title tags, meta descriptions, robots directives, and canonical tags. Use our meta tag generator.
Google's practice of primarily using the mobile version of a page's content for indexing and ranking. If your mobile site is different from desktop, Google sees the mobile version.
Name, Address, Phone number. Critical for local SEO — NAP information must be consistent across all online directories and citations.
An HTML attribute (rel='nofollow') telling search engines not to pass link equity through a link. Used for paid links, user-generated content, and untrusted URLs.
A robots meta tag directive telling search engines not to include a page in their index. Used for duplicate pages, admin pages, or content you don't want appearing in search results.
Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results. The primary goal of SEO. Measured in Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
A page with no internal links pointing to it. Search engines may have difficulty discovering orphan pages, and they receive no internal link equity. Fix by adding internal links.
How quickly a page's content loads. A confirmed Google ranking factor. Measured through Core Web Vitals scores. Improve by optimizing images, minimizing code, and using CDNs.
Google's original algorithm for ranking pages based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to them. While the public toolbar score was removed, the underlying concept still influences Google's ranking algorithm.
A network of websites created solely to build links to a target site. A black hat SEO tactic that violates Google's guidelines and can result in severe penalties.
A Google SERP feature showing related questions and expandable answers. Optimizing content to answer these questions can earn featured positions in PAA boxes.
The featured snippet position above organic result #1 in Google. Displays a direct answer, paragraph, list, or table extracted from a page. Extremely valuable for visibility.
Monitoring where your pages rank in search results for target keywords over time. Essential for measuring SEO progress. See our rank tracker comparison.
The process by which search engines execute JavaScript and other code to see the final version of a page. Important for JavaScript-heavy sites, since some engines may not fully render complex scripts.
Enhanced search result with additional information like star ratings, prices, FAQ dropdowns, or recipe data. Created by implementing structured data (schema markup) on your pages.
A text file at your website's root that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections they can and cannot access. Does not prevent indexing — use noindex for that.
A vocabulary of structured data (schema.org) added to HTML that helps search engines understand page content. Enables rich snippets, knowledge panels, and other enhanced SERP features.
The underlying goal behind a user's search query. Four main types: informational (learn something), navigational (find a specific site), commercial (compare options), and transactional (buy something).
Basic, broad terms that describe your niche or industry (e.g., 'SEO tools', 'running shoes'). Used as starting points for keyword research to discover more specific opportunities.
The page displayed by a search engine after a user submits a query. Contains organic results, paid ads, featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other features.
A tool for previewing how your title tag and meta description will appear in Google search results. Helps optimize for click-through rate before publishing.
A comprehensive analysis of a website's technical health, on-page optimization, and overall SEO performance. Identifies issues like broken links, duplicate content, and speed problems. See our audit guide.
An XML file listing all important pages on your website, submitted to search engines to help them discover and crawl your content more efficiently.
Security technology that enables HTTPS (encrypted connection) on your website. HTTPS is a confirmed Google ranking factor. All modern websites should use SSL.
Code (typically JSON-LD) added to a page to help search engines understand the content's meaning and context. Powers rich results like star ratings, FAQs, and product information.
The practice of optimizing a website's technical aspects to improve crawling, indexing, and rendering by search engines. Covers site speed, mobile-friendliness, schema, and more. See our technical SEO guide.
Pages with little substantive content or value to users. Google's Panda algorithm targets thin content. Consolidate thin pages or add substantial, unique information.
An HTML element specifying the title of a web page. Displayed as the clickable headline in search results. One of the most important on-page SEO elements. Keep under 60 characters.
The perceived expertise a website has on a specific topic, built by creating comprehensive, interlinked content covering all aspects of that topic. See our content strategy playbook.
The estimated dollar value of a website's organic traffic if it were purchased as paid ads (PPC). Calculated as search volume × position CTR × CPC for each ranking keyword.
The format and organization of your page URLs. Clean, descriptive URLs (e.g., /keyword-research-guide/) are preferred over long, parameterized URLs with numbers and symbols.
How visitors interact with and perceive your website. Google measures UX through Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, and engagement metrics. Better UX = better rankings.
SEO tactics that comply with search engine guidelines. Focuses on creating quality content, earning natural backlinks, and optimizing technical performance. Sustainable long-term strategy.
The number of words on a page. There's no 'ideal' word count — the right length depends on the topic and search intent. Comprehensive coverage matters more than hitting a specific number.
A file listing all important URLs on your site, formatted for search engines. Submit via Google Search Console to help Google discover and index your pages faster.
Your Money Your Life. Google's classification for content that could impact a person's health, finances, safety, or well-being. YMYL pages are held to higher E-E-A-T standards.
A search where the user gets their answer directly on the SERP (via featured snippets, knowledge panels, etc.) without clicking through to any website. An increasing trend in search.
Semrush lets you apply everything in this glossary — keyword research, site audits, backlink analysis, and more.
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